::A Geek in Korea::

I was talking to some of my students about the World Cup. I asked them if they were going to watch it at home, or if they were excited about it. One of the students said they weren’t going to be watching it. I was taken back by this. To admit to not watching the World Cup in Korea is pretty much unthinkable. Every advertisement, show, and entertainment of any sort is completely tied into the World Cup at this point.

I’m sure there are some people not interested in soccer somewhere in Korea, but I couldn’t believe that this student would have said something of the sort. He comes into class with battle scars from his latest soccer game all the time. Why would such a student swear off from watching the World Cup? Were his parents killed by a soccer ball at the last World Cup? What could cause this to happen? I asked him why he wouldn’t watch the World Cup despite liking to play soccer.

He said it wasn’t because he wasn’t interested in the World Cup. It was because his father had removed the cable television cord in their house. Now no one in the house was able to watch television for the next month.

Why would his father do that? It’s because at the end of the month, coinciding with the very middle of the World Cup, is a set of school exams. This is probably the worst timing for a set of exams ever. Because of the time differences of Korea and Europe, most of the games are in the middle of the night. Soccer fans would be staying up all night to watch games. His father has banned watching television and fun until this set of class tests has passed.

While I can understand the desire for students to do well on tests, I hardly think that removing the cable television during the World Cup is an example of good parenting. Watching Korean soccer games is a cultural experience that unifies this country in an unbelievable way. People think fondly of the 2002 World Cup performance and they way it represented Korea on a world stage. The nationalism and pride that comes with watching the World Cup is amazing to experience. When the Korean soccer team scores a goal, everyone in an apartment building knows because the cheering. Even in the dead of night, it is loud enough to wake someone that had foolishly fallen asleep. To miss out on this because you have to study for some tests that, in the scheme of things, don’t make or break anyone’s academic career seems like too strong an action.